On Sat, 13 Oct 2007 01:01:54 -0400, Wes wrote:

"Jerry Foster" wrote:

A little cleverness in the design can save a world of time (and cost) in the
making...

I'm a firm believer that engineers should spend some time as apprentices
making the things they aspire to design.

Wes

That was somewhat the case at one time in some places. It's still a
good idea. New engineers weren't exactly apprentices because they
didn't need to achieve the skill level that an apprentice must to
become a journeyman. They were there to gain an appreciation of what
is done and how things work on the shop floor, in the drafting room,
in the test & eval lab, etc -- and the only way to gain that is by
doing it, working side-by-side with people who do it for a living.
Newly-degreed young engineers did not design anything until they had
about 2 years of such OJT and experience to complete their education.